Billions of dong lost in parking violations

Update:
July, 26/2012 - 10:34

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HA NOI — The Ministry of Transport Inspectorate says violations in the management and licensing of parking lots in Ha Noi and HCM City have led to the loss of dozens of billions of dong in State revenue.

Lax management, inconsistencies in administrative documents between agencies, and wrongful permission for operators to use pavements were the main causes.

The inspectorate said construction sites and high-rise buildings lacked parking lots while many parking areas encroached on streets and sidewalks.

The Ha Noi Department of Transport allowed Ha Noi Parking Company to encroach on Dao Tan, Doi Cung and Cao Dat streets, though these roads are too narrow.

They also granted business permits to the Dong Xuan Company to operate on Ngo Gach, Hang Bun and Gia Ngu Streets.

The Anh Du and De Nhat companies and several other parking companies were also approved to operate parking lots against regulations.

The inspectorate said that agencies had neglected the problem, while focusing on other regulations, such as the helmet law.

Statistics from the ministry show that only 660 out of more than 4,860 cases of illegal pavement encroaching received any form of punishment.

The difference in prices for companies to use pavements in the two major cities has led to unfair preferential treatment.

For example, in 2011, Ha Noi Parking Company paid less than VND1,000 (US$0.04) per square metre a month while others had to pay more than VND30,000 ($1.40).

"The low price given to Ha Noi Parking Company costs the State at least VND20 billion ($952,380) each year," the inspectorate reported.

According to regulation, only the provincial People's Committee has the authority to grant pavement permits, but the inspectorate discovered that many of them were issued by the district People's Committee in Ha Noi.

The Ministry of Transport ordered the Ha Noi Department of Transport, together with the Hoan Kiem and Hai Ba Trung districts' people's committees to revoke any licences that were illegally granted.

They were also ordered to report back by the middle of next month.

The Ministry of Transport proposed amendments to Decision 23 issued on January 9, 2009, and Decision 07 issued on January 25, 2010, by Ha Noi authorities to standardise prices for the use of roads or pavements.

However, the director of the Ha Noi Department of Transport, Nguyen Quoc Hung, has sent a document to the Ministry of Transport saying that the department's permit-issuing process conformed to the ministry's and municipal people's committee's regulations and circulars.

"The department issued the agencies with car-parking permits if the agencies ensure there are fire-prevention facilities and the parking does not affect public transport," Hung said.